Panama Papers: UK's Cameron fights back in parliament

David Cameron lashes out at 'deeply hurtful' allegations made against his father after the Panama Papers leak.

12 Apr 2016 11:42 GMT

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron has fought back after days of criticism over his finances, lashing out at what he called hurtful and untrue allegations about his late father's investments, sparked by the Panama Papers leaks

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Trying to restore his government's shaken reputation, Cameron insisted on Monday that "aspiration and wealth creation are not somehow dirty words" and said that the UK was acting to stop evasion in overseas tax havens.

Cameron has been under mounting pressure since his father, Ian Cameron, was identified as a client of a Panamanian law firm that specialises in helping the wealthy to reduce their tax burdens.

The prime minister initially refused to say whether he had a stake in Blairmore Holdings, an offshore firm established by his father, before acknowledging he had sold his shares in it shortly before he was elected in 2010.

"I accept all of the criticisms for not responding more quickly to these issues last week," Cameron told MPs in parliament. "But as I said, I was angry about the way my father's memory was being traduced."

Cameron said his father had set up an investment fund overseas so it could trade in dollar securities - "an entirely standard practice and it is not to avoid tax". He said millions of Britons had investments in such funds through workplace pensions.

Revelations about the Cameron family finances - found among more than 11 million leaked documents from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca - have cast a shadow on previous government statements that it is committed to closing tax loopholes.

Cameron has championed greater financial transparency, and is due to host an international anti-corruption summit in London next month. A law requiring UK companies to disclose who really benefits from their ownership comes into force in June.

His office initially insisted that his financial arrangements were private, before acknowledging that Cameron and his wife had sold about $44,000 in shares in the offshore fund shortly before he became prime minister in 2010, to avoid any potential conflict of interest.

Treasury chief George Osborne and opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn both published details of their own tax returns on Monday. So did London Mayor Boris Johnson, revealed to have paid almost £1m in tax over the past four years.

The tax spat could have repercussions for Britain's June 23 referendum on EU membership. Cameron is the leading proponent of staying in the EU, and anything that tarnishes his image could undermine that campaign.

Labour leader Corbyn said Cameron did not "fully appreciate the anger that is out there" about tax evasion.

Conservative MP Alan Duncan, though, accused the prime minister's critics of hating "anyone who's even got a hint of wealth in their life".